Iron Man 3
| directed by = Shane Black | written by = Shane Black Drew Pearce | produced by = Victoria Alonso Mitch Bell Stephen Broussard Louis D'Esposito Jon Favreau Kevin Feige Alan Fine Stan Lee Dan Mintz Charles Newirth Lars P. Winther Bing Wu Wenge Xiao | music by = Brian Tyler | cinematography = John Toll | edited by = Peter S. Elliot Jeffrey Ford | distributed by = Marvel Studios Paramount Pictures | release date(s) = May 3rd, 2013 | mpaa rating = | running time = 130 min. | country = | language = English | budget = $200,000,000 Internet Movie Database; Iron Man 3 (2013) | gross revenue = $403,823,046 (US) $1,208,423,046 (Worldwide) Box Office Mojo; Iron Man 3 (2013) | preceded by = Iron Man 2 (2010) | followed by = }} Iron Man 3 is an American action film that blends elements of science fiction with superhero fantasy. It is based on the Iron Man family of comic book titles published by Marvel Comics. It is the seventh film in the growing Marvel Cinematic Universe and follows the events of 2012's The Avengers. The film was directed by Shane Black with a script written by Black and Drew Pearce. It was produced by Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures and released theatrically in conventional screening and IMAX 3X in the United States and Canada on May 3rd, 2013. The movie stars Robert Downey, Jr. reprising the role of billionaire industrialist Tony Stark, also known as the superhero Iron Man. Also returning to the franchise is Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Don Cheadle as Colonel James Rhodes (now calling himself Iron Patriot instead of War Machine) and Jon Favreau, who steps away from the director's chair this time around, but still showing up to play loyal security chief Happy Hogan. The featured antagonists for this film are Aldrich Killian, played by Guy Pearce and the Mandarin, played by veteran actor Ben Kingsley. Other cast members in this movie include Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen, William Sadler as President Ellis, James Badge Dale as Savin, Miguel Ferrer as Vice President Rodriguez and Ty Simpkins as Harley Keener. The plot of the movie begins some ten years prior to the events of the first ''Iron Man'' film, in which an inebriated Tony Stark attends a science conference and ignores the presence of disabled scientist Aldrich Killian who invites him to become part of a revolutionary new think tank program called Advanced Idea Mechanics. In the present, Killian's work with a biological agent called Extremis has cured him of his disability and he has now weaponized it in order to become a major player in the weapons market. Working with an international terrorist known only as the Mandarin, Killian sets his sites on Tony Stark, who is suffering from not only his usual commitment issues, but also from post-traumatic stress brought on by his battle with the Chitauri in ''The Avengers''. After losing nearly everything, Tony Stark is forced to rebuild his faith in himself with the aid of a young fatherless child named Harley Keener. Plot Cast Appearances * * * * * Production & Release * Following a fallout with Paramount Pictures after the success of Iron Man 2, the Walt Disney Company negotiated with Marvel Studios for the distribution rights to Iron Man 3, which took place on October 18th, 2010. Disney paid $115 million to Paramount for the distribution rights. The Wrap; "Will There Be an Iron Man 3?" * Production on Iron Man 3 began in April, 2012. Principal filming began on May 23rd, 2012. Reshoots began on July 19th, 2012, with additional sequences being filmed on December 17th, 2012 through January 23rd, 2013. * The majority of the film was shot in North Carolina, with scenes from Tony Stark's beach house from Malibu, California and other California locales such as Santa Clara. Other scenes were filmed in Miami, Florida. * Iron Man 3 premiered in London on April 18th, 2013. * Iron Man 3 grossed $174,144,585 over it's opening weekend in the United States. It grossed $72,525,615 during it's second weekend ending on May 12th. On the week of May 19th, it grossed $35,770,094 and on the week of May 26th, it grossed $19,324,592. On the weekend of June 16th, 2013 it grossed $2,956,855, which is the same weekend that the Superman reboot Man of Steel was released. * Iron Man 3 is the fifth-highest-grossing film, the highest-grossing 2013 film, the second-highest-grossing film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after ''The Avengers''. * Iron Man 3 closed out of theaters on September 12th, 2013. Cast & Crew * This is Shane Black's second film as a director and his first film in the superhero fantasy genre. He previously directed 2005 noir comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which also starred Robert Downey, Jr. His first work as a screenwriter was on the 1987 action movie Lethal Weapon, directed by Superman director Richard Donner. * This movie marks the feature film debut for screenwriter Drew Pearce (no relation to actor Guy Pearce). Prior to this film, he worked on various comedy projects such as Lip Service and No Heroics. * As with nearly all Marvel Studios productions, Iron Man 3 includes a cameo appearance by Marvel Comics forefather, Stan Lee. In this film Stan plays a judge at a beauty pageant. In the previous films, Lee played a pastiche of a famous figure such as Hugh Hefner in the first ''Iron Man'' and Larry King in Iron Man 2. * This film marks the fifth appearance of Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark. In addition to the first two films, he also played Tony Stark in [[Incredible Hulk (2008)|''Incredible Hulk]] and ''The Avengers'' in 2012. * This film marks the fourth appearance of Gwyneth Paltrow in the role of Pepper Potts. In addition to the first two films, she also appeared in ''The Avengers''. Notes & Trivia * The tagline for this film is, "Unleash the power behind the armor". * Iron Man 3 was released on DVD in Region 1 format and Blu-ray (with digital copy) by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on September 24th, 2013. * The plot of this film is loosely based on the "Extremis" storyline from issues #1-6 of Iron Man, Volume 4. * Iron Man 3 is the first major comic book movie released in 2013. Other such films released the same year include Man of Steel, The Wolverine, Thor: The Dark World and ''Kick-Ass 2''. * The movie contains an after-credits bonus scene in which the story of the film is revealed to be told in flashback by Tony Stark to Bruce Banner as if he were a patient speaking to a psychiatrist. Banner even informs Tony, "I'm not that kind of doctor", before admitting that he had fallen asleep near the beginning of Tony's narrative. * The comic book version of Aldrich Killian had a very minor role in the original development of Extremis. He made a single appearance in Iron Man, Volume 4 #2 and was killed off on page two. * Maya Hanson is based on a canonical Marvel Universe character who first appeared in Iron Man, Volume 4 #1. In the comics, it was May who invented Extremis, not Aldrich Killian. * The character of President Ellis is named for author Warren Ellis who wrote the original "Extremis" storyline. * The conference that Tony Stark attends in the beginning of the film is the same one referenced by Yinsen in the first ''Iron Man'' film in which he reveals that Tony and he had met once before. * The character of Ellen Brandt, while based on an actual Marvel Universe character, is actually tied in with the origin of the Man-Thing and has no connection to Iron Man. * The character of Bambi Arbogast makes an off-panel cameo appearance in this film. In ''Iron Man 2'' she was played by actress Margy Moore. Recommendations See also * Iron Man 3 * Iron Man 3 media * Iron Man 3 images * Iron Man 3 characters * Iron Man 3 miscellaneous External Links * * * Iron Man 3 at Wikipedia * * * * * * * Iron Man 3 at the Marvel Movies Wiki References Keywords President of the United States Category:Films Category:Based on a comic Category:2010s/Films Category:2013/Films Category:May, 2013/Films Category:Marvel Studios Category:Paramount Pictures Category:Theatrically released films Category:Sequels Category:3rd installments Category:I/Films Category:Mike Justus/Stunt coordinator